In April I made a commitment to provide a further statement to outline how we will go further and faster in pursuit of a zero-carbon Wales to deliver prosperity and equality, as well as clean air, water and land. We will achieve this by strengthening the resilience of our natural and built environments to the impact of a changing climate and by enabling an economic transformation that will displace our reliance on fossil fuels, creating the industries and the jobs of the future.

We have begun work to create a national forest for Wales, launching our community woodlands fund, a fourfold increase in woodland creation budget. We will continue to engage with the Welsh farming sector to understand how we can work with them to expand the role they play in maintaining and growing Wales's carbon stores.

We remain on track to meet our goal of investing £350 million in flood and coastal erosion risk. In April we announced a £60 million investment program for 2020-1, in addition to £14 million in funding to repair flood defences and transport infrastructure damaged during the intense storms that affected thousands of people across Wales earlier this year. During the pandemic, we've also established a new programme to address the risk to our communities from coal tips.

Our action on fuel poverty has supported thousands of households to improve their health and to offer protection against rising energy costs through investment of more than £300 million. Whilst the COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruption to the installation of energy efficiency measures within people's homes, I intend to provide a further statement in September to announce new plans and delivery mechanisms to realise even greater benefits for equality, for emissions, for local supply chains and jobs.

Welsh Government is also investing directly through the innovative housing programme, designed to test new approaches to building social and affordable housing that meets the highest environmental standards. The 1,400 homes being delivered in the first three years of the programme include 76 in Ruthin, which we hope will be the first in the UK to deliver net zero, whole-life carbon and are being built using Welsh timber. Over 600 more futureproof homes will be built in the coming year.

During the pandemic, we have seen a significant increase in both walking and cycling, and a dramatic increase in home working, which have significantly reduced emissions. To support communities to lock in positive travel habits, Welsh Government has provided £15 million of new funding for local authorities across Wales to reallocate road space, building on record levels of investment in active travel last year.

Wales has been a leader in the UK and globally in the shift to a circular economy. This year we've consulted on our strategy to achieve zero waste and have expanded the circular economy fund for business. The first round of grants saw investment in Welsh businesses to divert 6,000 tonnes of waste from landfill, saving more than 4,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Wales is home to world-leading research to address the emissions from carbon-intensive industries, including steel and aviation. Working with our regional skills partnerships, we are working to ensure all regions of Wales have the skills needed for the adoption and expansion of emerging low-carbon technology.

In response to the pandemic, Wales has provided the most generous support package for business anywhere in the UK. However, we have made this support conditional on companies signing up to the Welsh Government economic contract, including a commitment to decarbonisation.

Public sector leadership in this area is vital. I will be publishing a Welsh public sector net zero reporting guide to help us understand the emissions footprint of Welsh public bodies, identify priority sources of emissions and monitor progress towards reaching our goal of a carbon neutral public sector by 2030. Our Welsh Government energy service has invested more than £96 million in public sector renewable energy projects, which over their lifetime will deliver 1 million tonnes of carbon savings and over £280 million of financial savings. The publication of the Welsh Government energy service's annual report today showcases our progress in the last year.

Earlier this year, we published our policy to require all new energy installations to include an element of local ownership to share more widely the benefits of our energy transition. In 2018, we reached 780 MW of community and locally-owned renewable energy capacity, and we remain on track to achieve 1 GW by 2030.

Alongside our support for renewables, Welsh Government's policy objective is to avoid the continued extraction of fossil fuels in all its forms. Today, I am launching a consultation on our draft coal policy to support a responsible transition. As we end our reliance on coal, on which Wales's modern economy was built, we look to the contribution Wales can make to the marine energy revolution. We've invested in 10 marine energy projects, which have secured more than £100 million of European investment, in both north and south Wales.

I have described some of the important progress being made in Wales, and in the coming weeks we will publish a Welsh Government engagement plan, setting out how we will engage all communities and industries in Wales to strengthen our collective efforts. This will include our plans for a digital Climate Week for Wales in November to support the development of our next all-Wales low-carbon plan for 2021 to 2026.

I hope all Members of the Senedd will encourage all public bodies, businesses and communities in Wales to be part of creating a truly all-Wales plan to overcome the climate emergency, supporting our economy to recover from the impact of COVID-19, creating new industries and jobs, to deliver a prosperous, healthier and more equal Wales. Diolch.